Prisons invite buy-to-let investment

Posted: 01 Dec 2006 10:18:52 GMT

Inspired by the buy-to-let boom of the last ten years, the government has said that it is to take an unusual approach to funding the new prisons desperately needed in the UK

Inspired by the buy-to-let boom of the last ten years, the government has said that it is to take an unusual approach to funding the new prisons desperately needed in the UK.

The public will be invited to buy shares in new penal institutions in return for "rent" paid on cell space by prison operators.

With the current prison system near-breaking point and the number of prisoners in the UK having been on a steady upward turn for at least ten years, the rental income would seem guaranteed.

The prison population officially passed the 80,000 mark this week, with 85 of the 139 prisons in England and Wales reporting overcrowding.

The public/private approach to funding has been suggested by the Home Office after the Treasury said it was unable to stump up money for 8,000 new prison places.

The project would operate using the model of tax-free Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits), due to be launched in the new year, and has been successfully used in the US.

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